‎The Maltese Falcon (1941) directed by John Huston • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 40 Here's what I love about film noir: nobody gets to be an angel. No sentimentality, no melodrama, just tough characters who quip their way in and out of unsavory situations. Needless to say, The Maltese Falcon ticks every box on my list. And it isn't just a film noir; it's the first major film to be recognized as such, and therefore one of the most influential films in the genre. And boy, does it live up to expectations. Being both a cinephile and a bibliophile, I felt obliged to read the The Maltese Falcon before watching the film adaptation. Dashiell Hammett's novel was a perfect candidate for the big screen: minute descriptions, unique characters, and colorful dialogue that was just… I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble. -Sam Spade Some films are credited with defining a particular genre. The Maltese Falcon didn't define a genre, but it helped create one. It was film-noir before the term film-noir existed.

While it's arguably not the first to be considered noir, it is still regarded as the first by a major studio. It isn't however the first adaptation of Dashiell Hammett 's novel, but actually the third. For John Huston 's directorial debut it seems odd that he would attempt a third adaptation of a novel that was barely over 10 years old, but he had an idea that stood out from the others. The script is practically a direct translation of Hammett's novel.… 5 John Huston's 1941 adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon opens with a text scroll detailing the history of an ancient treasure. This short introduction could not have been more prophetic, because The Maltese Falcon is a true treasure. This is the quintessential film noir, a movie I don't mind calling perfect, as it tells the story of a slick private investigator who gets tangled up in the convoluted quest to obtain a legendary falcon statue. Whenever I get around to making my all time favorites list, I'll be surprised if this doesn't perch near the pinnacle of it.

If you are like me, and haven't before seen this classic, then stop reading now, because the less you know going… Review by sydney ★★★★★ rewatched for the first time since teenhood, so now i'll tell you why it's in my four favorites and will always stay there. i watched and loved it as a kid, i loved lots of old movies but this one in particular enchanted me. there's something so dangerous and adult about it though this viewing revealed it as a near comedy? an over-the-top romp at least. it's basically the simplest distillation of every noir/pulp/detective landmark, which is a positive or a negative depending on your point of view. for mine, its workmanlike avoidance of any frills and its dedication to doing not much more than put a novel on a screen works in its favor, and it's a top five… 2 It was Louise that highlighted my ignorance of movies from pre-1960 a few weeks ago, and although I'm still pretty much a novice when it comes to thirties and forties films, I'm slowly but surely enlightening myself with some classics.

Following the likes of the Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland starring swashbucklers, it was time to check back in with Mr Humphrey Bogart. The Maltese Falcon has another of those casts that made the likes of Casablanca so good. Reuniting Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet, this movie is unofficially the first of a genre. A film noir of the highest order, this requires concentration with all the twists and turns and has a level of mystery to… 2 The quintessential catalyst for any film-noir lover even if it isn't my favourite of the sort. John Huston's directorial debut was a remake of all things, and as a matter of fact it was the third film to be made from Dashiel Hammett's novel of the same name and it remains the best known of all of them for good reason. Yet it also started a director-acting partnership between Humphrey Bogart and John Huston which would only go on to create more classics as they went on - achieving success one after another.

All of it comes back to The Maltese Falcon for even if it is not their finest it is certainly one to be remembered through the years.… Review by JC13 ★★★★ "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it." This Noir classic is a film that I had seen two times prior to this viewing and was a big fan. Like any good Noir it has a plot that is full of twists and turns around every corner and complete with some snappy dialogue. The Maltese Falcon has a strong set of characters, all wonderfully realized by the cast member that plays them. Humphrey Bogart leads the way as Private Detective Sam Spade. His character is kind of an asshole, but a likable one and Bogart probably plays the part better than anyone else could have. Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre all chip in with good performances as… Review by Sean Curley ★★★★★ "I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble." Humphrey Bogart and John Huston make their respective plays for superstardom with this great Dashiell Hammett adaptation.

In the former case, this and Casablanca would establish Bogart's two major character types for the next decade or so; the latter, John Huston established himself as a director worth watching, and usher in the new age of film noir. This is a film that only puts its foot wrong once, with a wholly unnecessary expository scrawl at the introduction where all the pertinent information is later repeated in the film itself by Sydney Greenstreet (a much more interesting delivery method). A minor sin, by any measure. Bogart gives what may be his most complex… 2 The quintessential catalyst for any film-noir lover even if it isn't my favourite of the sort. John Huston's directorial debut was a remake of all things, and as a matter of fact it was the third film to be made from Dashiel Hammett's novel of the same name and it remains the best known of all of them for good reason. Yet it also started a director-acting partnership between Humphrey Bogart and John Huston which would only go on to create more classics as they went on - achieving success one after another.

All of it comes back to The Maltese Falcon for even if it is not their finest it is certainly one to be remembered through the years.… The Maltese Falcon (1941) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Director: John Huston (screenplay), Dashiell Hammett (based upon the novel by) Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 23 titles created 15 Aug 2013 a list of 25 titles created 25 Dec 2013 a list of 22 titles created 24 Feb 2015 a list of 25 titles created 3 months ago a list of 49 titles created 1 month ago Title: The Maltese Falcon (1941) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins. See more awards » Videos Fred Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two Americans searching for work in Mexico, convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Director: John Huston Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a rich family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail, and what might be love.

Director: Howard Hawks An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions. Director: Billy Wilder A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in a Mexican border town. Director: Orson Welles Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime. Director: Carol Reed A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. Director: Billy Wilder A man visits his old friend's hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other. Director: John Huston In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. Director: Michael Curtiz A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder - a theory that he plans to implement.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock In Africa during World War I, a gin-swilling riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship. Director: John Huston An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses. Director: Elia Kazan Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance. Director: Orson Welles Edit Storyline Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wonderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead. And so is a man named Floyd Thursby. It seems Miss Wonderly is surrounded by dangerous men. There's Joel Cairo, who uses gardenia-scented calling cards. There's Kasper Gutman, with his enormous girth and feigned civility. Her only hope of protection comes from Sam, who is suspected by the police of one or the other murder.

More murders are yet to come, and it will all be because of these dangerous men -- and their lust for a statuette of a bird: the Maltese Falcon. Written by J. Spurlin Another Great Story from the author of "The Thin Man!" See more » Genres: 18 October 1941 (USA) See more » Also Known As: The Gent from Frisco See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Sam Spade refers to Wilmer as a "gunsel", a term the censors assumed was a reference to a gunman. The Yiddish term "gunsel"--literally, "little goose"--may indeed be a vulgarism for homosexual (the word "faigle", or "little bird", is usually used in that respect), but it's more commonly an "underground" term that refers to a person who is either a "fall guy" or a "stool pigeon", in which case Spade is making both a direct and an indirect reference to Wilmer's character. See more » Goofs When searching for the body, Sam's handkerchief is ruffled only while he is in the room, not before or after.

See more » Quotes Effie Perine : I guess so. You'll want to see her anyway. She's a knockout. Sam Spade : Shoo her in, Effie darling, shoo her in. (Ohio) – See all my reviews With a fine combination of cast, characters, story, and atmosphere, this classic is one of the most entertaining films of its kind, enjoyable even after several viewings. It gets you right into the action and introduces you to a list of interesting personalities, who mesh together nicely and who are also matched well with the cast members. Beyond that, it's also effective as a character study involving greed, trust and distrust, and conflicting ethics. Sam Spade is an ideal role for Bogart, giving him plenty to work with and some very good dialogue as well. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are very entertaining, providing suitable foils for Bogart, and they really take the film up a notch. The rest of the cast also works well (worth mentioning is Elisha Cook, Jr., whose character doesn't do a lot, but who provides Bogart with some very amusing moments at his expense).

The story is nicely adapted from the novel, and each scene is constructed well, with everything moving along nicely from start to finish. If you are a fan of either film noir or mysteries, make this a must-see. There are very few films that work as well as "The Maltese Falcon". 44 of 56 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes 1000+ images about Maltese Falcon on Pinterest | Casablanca, The movie and Maltese Lee Patrick as Effie Perrine Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in Warner Bros The Maltese Falcon" [John Huston, 1941] See More The Maltese Falcon | film by Huston [1941] | Britannica.com film by Huston [1941] Peter Lorre The Maltese Falcon, American film noir , released in 1941, that was an adaptation by John Huston of Dashiell Hammett ’s famed 1930 hard-boiled -detective novel of the same name. The film , notable for its cast, crisp dialogue , and dramatic cinematography, was Huston’s directorial debut.

Some have called The Maltese Falcon the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made. (From left) Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet in … © 1941 Warner Brothers, Inc. The story told in The Maltese Falcon is an intricate one. Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart ) is a private detective in San Francisco . He and his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), are hired for a large sum of money by a mysterious Miss Wonderly ( Mary Astor ) for a seemingly minor case: to help her trail a man, Floyd Thursby, who allegedly has disappeared with her younger sister. Spade sends Archer to tail Thursby but later receives a call that Archer is dead, supposedly murdered by Thursby. Spade later learns that Thursby has also been killed. (Although accused of the crime, he has an alibi.) Spade had earlier called Wonderly only to find that she had checked out of her hotel; she then resurfaces, claiming that her real name is Brigid O’Shaughnessy and telling Spade that her initial story was false and that Thursby probably murdered his partner.

She claims not to know who might have killed Thursby. Humphrey Bogart (centre) with Ward Bond and Barton MacLane in The Maltese … © 1941 Warner Brothers Entertainment Company; all rights reserved Spade subsequently meets Joel Cairo ( Peter Lorre ), who asks for Spade’s help in locating a statue of a bird and then threatens him when he claims not to know anything about it. Later, Cairo visits Spade and O’Shaughnessy at Spade’s apartment. A scuffle ensues between Cairo and O’Shaughnessy after they question each other about the bird statue, and the police appear, tipped off about an affair Spade was pursuing with Archer’s wife and suspecting him of his partner’s murder. Spade, however, manages to convince them that he is innocent. He is later summoned by the “Fat Man,” the erudite Kasper Gutman ( Sydney Greenstreet ), who is also searching for the statue. Spade demands that Gutman explain about the statue, and when he does not, Spade storms out only to be brought back later by Gutman’s hired gun, Wilmer ( Elisha Cook, Jr. ).

On their second meeting, Gutman tells Spade about the statue—a jewel-encrusted falcon with a storied history. He offers Spade a large sum of money to secure it, but Spade’s drink has been drugged, and he passes out before he can accept. When he comes to, he searches Gutman’s apartment to find a marked newspaper that tells of a ship coming in to port. Spade hurries to the dock only to find the ship ablaze. Similar Topics Titanic Spade returns to his office, where a mortally wounded man—Jacoby, the ship’s captain—presents him with a package. Spade calls O’Shaughnessy, Cairo, and Gutman together to negotiate terms for the statue. He demands money and suggests that Wilmer take the fall for the murders of Archer, Thursby, and Jacoby. However, when the package is opened, the statue is discovered to be fake. Spade ultimately turns Gutman and Cairo in to the police for the murders of Thursby and Jacoby. O’Shaughnessy confesses to having killed Archer, and Spade turns her in too, out of loyalty to his partner.

Listen: “Maltese Falcon, The”: radio version with Humphrey Bogart and Sidney Greenstreet, broadcast live, July 3, 1946 A radio version of The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Sidney … Huston’s The Maltese Falcon was actually the third film version of Hammett’s novel. The first, written by Hammett, was released in 1931 and starred Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels, and a looser adaptation starring Bette Davis was released in 1936 as Satan Met a Lady. The 1931 movie was considered lewd because of its homosexual innuendo and its portrayal of adultery, which led to Huston’s more nuanced film production 10 years later. Production notes and credits Maltese Falcon, The | Reelviews Movie Reviews Array ( [page] => reelviews [view] => maltese-falcon-the ) Maltese Falcon, The (United States, 1941) A movie review by James Berardinelli The Maltese Falcon is among the most important and influential movies to emerge from the Hollywood system - as significant in some ways as its contemporary, Citizen Kane.

In addition to providing the cinema with a new kind of private investigator (move over, Nick and Nora Charles), The Maltese Falcon supplied an entirely new style by which to tell these kinds of stories: film noir. It was the directorial birthplace of John Huston, who would become one of the dozen-or-so most revered American-born filmmakers, as well as the picture that transformed Humphrey Bogart from a B-level supporting villain to an A-level leading man. At the same time, it tells a twisty, compelling story that holds up reasonably well more than 65 years after being committed to film. For The Maltese Falcon, the third time was a charm. Warner Brothers optioned the Dashiell Hammett potboiler and had a version of the story on the screen within two years after its publication. The 1931 adaptation portrayed Sam Spade as more of a playboy than a hard-nosed tough guy; it was met with critical derision to go along with its moderate commercial success. Five years later, Satan Met a Lady was released. That was a comedy reworking of the story starring Bette Davis as the femme fatale.

The names were changed to protect the guilty but Hammett was given his due credit. The movie bombed. Then, in 1941, the Huston/Bogart collaboration - a production made on the cheap with contract players and a short shooting schedule - changed the direction of Hollywood. By the time The Maltese Falcon arrived, audiences had become used to a certain kind of private investigator - usually someone with independent wealth who cooperated with the police and avoided too much dirtying of hands. The Thin Man and its sequels are perfect examples. (It's worth noting that The Thin Man was also based on a Hammett property.) The Maltese Falcon introduces Sam Spade - an antihero with a penchant for fast dialogue and faster women. He'll do anything to make a buck or bed a dame, and is likeable only because of his frankness about the world and his role in it. He doesn't carry a gun but isn't afraid to use one if presented with the opportunity. This was not how movie detectives were expected to act before 1941. After the release of The Maltese Falcon, that became pretty much the only way they were expected to act. As the story opens, P.I.

Sam Spade (Bogart) is in his office, engaging in banter with his secretary, Effie (Lee Patrick). Enter the femme fatale, Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). She wants to hire Sam and his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan). She spins a story about her sister having been led astray by a man and brought to San Francisco against her will. For $200, Spade is to liberate the sister from this man, but it may be dangerous. Miles takes the point on the case and is killed during the stakeout. Sam doesn't show much remorse about this development - it's an opportunity for him to change the name of the agency. Plus, he has been having an affair with Miles' wife. Nevertheless, the code by which Sam lives requires that he find Miles' killer and bring the man to justice. His best lead is Brigid, so he starts there. It turns out there is no "sister." This is all about the black statuette of a falcon, possibly a priceless artifact whose current whereabouts are unknown. Sam is only one of a few seeking the falcon.

His rivals include the urbane Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre); the larger-than-life "Fat Man" Kaspar Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet); and Gutman's muscle, "Little Boy" Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.). It takes a while before the full truth about the falcon and Brigid's involvement is revealed, but Sam eventually gets to the bottom of the caper. (History buffs will note that that the first two atom bombs, "Fat Man" and "Little Boy," were named after Gutman and Cook.) All these years later, it's tough to imagine anyone but Bogart playing Spade, so watching either of the earlier versions is an odd experience. Bogart embodies Hammett's detective: so calloused by life that he won't become a "sap" even for love, yet hiding a core of humanity that occasionally peeks through via haunted eyes. Bogart's clipped, rapid-fire delivery of Spade's lines has become iconic. When we think of the actor, we most often envision Rick from Casablanca , but that character has more than a few echoes of Spade in him.

Before The Maltese Falcon, Bogart was not a big star; this movie elevated him into the stratosphere. For the next fifteen years, he would dominate Hollywood both on and off the screen. Bogart was a package deal with first-time director John Huston, who would go on to work with the actor five more times (including Key Largo and The African Queen). Huston did not single-handedly invent film noir, but he combined elements of German Expressionism with Hollywood techniques to form a style that relied on shadows, light, and atmosphere to go along with dark plots and shady characters. Film noir became the only way to make crime films and detective stories during the '40s and '50s and its essential elements are still used today, even though the medium has changed from black-and-white to color. The chemistry between the actors is palpable - it would have to be considering that all five principals (Spade, Brigid, Cairo, Gutman, Cook) are together in a single room for the final 20 minutes of the movie.

The trio of Bogart, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet (making his first movie appearance here) worked so well together that they were re-united twice more - in Casablanca and Passage to Marseille. Mary Astor had not been the top choice to play Brigid (that had been Geraldine Fitzgerald) but her off-screen notoriety enhanced her portrayal since it "bled" into the character. Initially, The Maltese Falcon may seem plot-driven but, when one considers that the falcon is actually a Mcguffin, the film can be seen as more of a character study. There are no traditional "good guys." Spade acts as he does not to honor the law but to fulfill his own personal code of honor, and he inflicts pain upon himself (and others) in the process. His choices and actions fly in the face of the belief that love can conquer all. In this movie and Spade's world-view, that's not the case. In service of film noir, Huston and his cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, use light and shadow liberally and none of what transpires during the course of The Maltese Falcon does so in bright sunlight.

The street scenes are in the black of night and, with the exception of Spade's office and Gutman's drawing room, few sets are well-lit. Huston employs interesting camera angles to vary the film's visual look. Greenstreet, for example, is often shot from below so he fills up and towers over the scene. There's also a long, unbroken take when Spade meets Gutman that often goes unnoticed and unmentioned because it flows so well and does not call attention to itself. I would not argue that The Maltese Falcon is the best filmed detective story, but it is the progenitor of countless films, few of which achieved its level (never mind exceeding it). The movie offers fewer surprises to today's audiences than it would have provided to those viewing it 60+ years ago, primarily because so many of the innovations brought to the screen in The Maltese Falcon have become part of the everyday cinematic lexicon. Nevertheless, with Hammett's dialogue incorporated virtually verbatim into the screenplay, Bogart in top form, and Huston allowed total directorial freedom, watching this first of the films noir is an experience to be embraced.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) The Maltese Falcon (1941) Pages: ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) Background The Maltese Falcon (1941) is one of the most popular and best classic detective mysteries ever made, and many film historians consider it the first in the dark film noir genre in Hollywood. It leaves the audience with a distinctly down-beat conclusion and bitter taste. The low-budget film reflects the remarkable directorial debut of John Huston (previously a screenwriter) who efficiently and skillfully composed and filmed this American classic for Warner Bros. studios, with great dialogue, deceitful characters, and menacing scenes. The precocious director Huston was very faithful to Dashiell Hammett's 1929 novel The Maltese Falcon, that had originally appeared as a five-part serialized story in a pulp fiction, detective story magazine publication named Black Mask. However, for an early preview audience, the film took a different, short-lived title, The Gent From Frisco.

There were two major differences between the book and film: (1) Gutman was killed by Wilmer, and (2) the last quotable line of dialogue, with a Shakespearean reference, was thought up by Bogart on the set.

Hammett's murder mystery novel had previously been filmed twice: The Maltese Falcon (1931), a low-budget, pre-Code film (directed by Roy Del Ruth) - renamed for TV as Dangerous Female - with Ricardo Cortez as the gumshoe opposite femme fatale Bebe Daniels; it was faithful to Hammett's novel, although its pre-censorship status allowed for steamier scenes (a nude bathtub shot, a portrayal of Spade as a womanizing Latin lover, and a clearly homosexual relationship between Casper "Fat Man" Gutman (Dudley Digges) and 'fall guy' Wilmer (Dwight Frye)) Satan Met a Lady (1936), a remake directed by William Dieterle) with Warren William and rising star Bette Davis as the femme fatale, but without the 'black bird' (a ram's horn was substituted) Huston was convinced that he could remake the film with a more precise screenplay and better acting than the other two adaptations.

The idea of a sequel following the film's success, to be titled The Further Adventures of the Maltese Falcon, was scrapped when Huston became unavailable and when Hammett demanded an exorbitant financial guarantee. As a footnote, it was refilmed 34 years later (a record for an interval of time between a sequel and its original) in the mid-70s as the satirical Black Bird (1975) with George Segal as son Sam Spade, Jr., and two appearances by original cast members (Elisha Cook, Jr., and Lee Patrick). The classic mystery film has also been spoofed in The Maltese Bippy (1969) with TV-show stars Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Murder By Death (1976), and The Cheap Detective (1978). The bejeweled, priceless 'Maltese Falcon' [a 50-pound plaster cast, seven in all, made by the Props Department at Warners] is at the center of the intriguing film as an elusive but valuable object that is greedily desired, for different reasons, by all the principals, in the labyrinthine, noirish plot.

[The black bird serves as the film's McGuffin, a plot device that propels the story forward but is proven ultimately worthless - although it wasn't termed that at the time. Hitchcock would later popularize the use of a McGuffin in his films.] The stylistic film is a mixture of mystery, romance, and thriller. It is mostly known for a number of memorable portrayals of corrupt, deceitful, hard-nosed villains ("The Fat Man" or Gutman by Sydney Greenstreet), low-life quirky crooks (Peter Lorre and 'gunsel' Elisha Cook, Jr.)) and tough heroes, interwoven complex interactions between vividly-played characters, double-crossing intrigues and deceptions (e.g., the treacherous, lying Mary Astor character identifies herself with three aliases - as Miss Ruth Wonderly, Miss Leblanc, and Brigid O'Shaughnessy), posturings, betrayals and materialistic greed. Everything is contained in marvelous characterizations and lines of dialogue.

[Mystery writer Dashiell Hammett was reportedly the first to use the word 'gunsel' - meaning a gun-toting felon - and to transform the old meaning (a young, passive, and inexperienced male homosexual) into a new one. In the film's conclusion, Gutman is willing to sacrifice his own gun-wielding lover Wilmer to the police -- and that parallels Sam Spade's response to Brigid! Lorre and Greenstreet would go on to star in many films together, most notably Casablanca (1942) - also with Bogart.] B-movie lead character Humphrey Bogart, now introduced as a 'good guy', presented the definitive anti-hero Sam Spade in the mystery thriller classic - as a cynical, cool San Francisco sleuthing private-eye who lives by his own code of ethics. Bogart had just finished another Warner Bros. film High Sierra (1941), in a role that was also turned down by WB's contract player George Raft. Geraldine Fitzgerald was originally chosen to play the role that Mary Astor eventually portrayed. The film received three nominations, but no Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (almost 300 lb.

Sydney Greenstreet in his talkie film debut), and Best Adapted Screenplay (by the director - John Huston). Competition from John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941) took the Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor Oscars (Donald Crisp), and Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) took the screenplay honors. However, in the same year, its un-nominated star Mary Astor, in the best performance of her career, was actually the recipient of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Great Lie (1941). Neither Astor nor Bogart were nominated for their immortalized roles. Bogart would go on to make more films with Huston: the director's Oscar-winning The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) , Key Largo (1948), The African Queen (1951) - bringing Bogey his only Oscar, and Beat the Devil (1954). The Story The credits wash down the screen over a view of the legendary Maltese Falcon - a black figurine that casts a dark shadow from an angular source of light.

[All four major stars' names, Bogart, Astor, George, and Lorre - in that order - appear on the second screen, following the film title.] The mysterious legend of the fabled, treasured statuette (a fictional account) scrolls up the screen (above the falcon) to set the stage: : In 1539, the Knights Templar of Malta, paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels- - - - - but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day. [Note: it was a significant deviation from the actual annual tribute (a live falcon bird) paid each year (until the year 1798) by the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem to the Spanish emperor.] Familiar locations in a grayish 1940s San Francisco are viewed with a slow pan - the Golden Gate Bridge, the Ferry Building, the Transbay (Oakland Bay) Bridge, and a few skyscrapers.

The camera views the San Francisco office window (with backwards lettering of the names Spade and Archer) of cynical, realistic, and tough detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and his partner Miles Archer. The two detectives share the same sparse office [and, behind the scenes, the same woman - Archer's wife Iva.] Spade's loyal, wholesome blonde secretary/'Girl Friday' Effie Perine (Lee Patrick) enters his office where he is alone rolling a cigarette. She tells him that there is a new "customer" - a Miss Wonderly - to see him, and the prospective client is a "knockout." Spade is confronted by an innocent-looking, stunning brunette beauty, a nervy but cool client named "Ruth Wonderly" (Mary Astor). She has a fur draped over her left shoulder and part of it rests on her right arm. In a desperate and tense mood, Wonderly tells Spade that she is from New York and that her younger sister (Corinne) is missing. The client ostensibly asks Spade for help in locating her sister, who vanished after writing that she was in San Francisco (she had left General Delivery as her only address).

Supposedly, she had been seduced by a mysterious, menacing man named Floyd Thursby while her wealthy parents were in Honolulu, and then ran away with the man. Miss Wonderly claims that she is hoping to find Corinne before her parents return. She met Thursby at the post office when he was picking up her second (and last) letter to Corinne. She explains what Thursby said: an appointment-date had been arranged to meet her sister that evening (after 8 o'clock) at the St. Mark Hotel: He wouldn't tell me where Corinne was. He said she didn't want to see me. I can't believe that. He promised to bring her to the hotel [The St. Mark] if she'd come this evening. He said he knew she wouldn't. He promised to come himself if she didn't. Just then, Spade's less brainy partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) enters the room and is filled in on the details of Miss Wonderly's story: Miss Wonderly's sister ran away from New York with a fellow named Floyd Thursby. They're here in San Francisco. Miss Wonderly is seeing Thursby and has a date to meet him tonight.

Maybe he'll bring the sister with him. The chances are he won't. Miss Wonderly wants us to find the sister, get her away from him and back home...If - after we've found her - she still doesn't want to leave him, well, we have ways of managing that. Breathlessly, Wonderly tells them about Thursby's violent tendencies: "Oh, but you must be careful. I'm deathly afraid of him. What he might do. She's so young and he's bringing her here from New York for such a serious...Mightn't he...Mightn't he do something to her?" She believes he is a "dangerous man" who wouldn't stop at anything - he might even kill her sister. Archer asks if Thursby could cover up by marrying her sister.

She replies that he has a wife and three children in England, to which Sam comments sardonically: "As they usually do, though not always in England." Thursby is identified as a dark-haired gentleman with thick bushy eyebrows: "He gives the impression of being a violent person." Stepping up to claim the case (and eager to get to know the pretty client personally), the wolfish and gallant Archer quickly volunteers to shadow Thursby and Miss Wonderly that night and then free the sister. Spade receives a substantial fee from the appealingly-feminine Miss Wonderly - $200 for the job. Archer promises he will be at her service: "You don't have to look for me. I'll see you all right." After Miss Wonderly has left the office, Miles asserts his salivating interest in the striking, rich, and helpless woman who hires them to rescue her sister: Archer: Oh, she's sweet. Maybe you saw her first, Sam, but I spoke first. Sam: (with irony) You've got brains. Yes, you have.

[Archer also claimed his wife first, but Spade ultimately took her as his own.] The camera pans to the floor of the office, where the window lettering is boldly projected - with Spade's name on top. After a dissolve, the next scene is on a dark street at the corner of Bush and Stockton Streets. [This is the ONLY scene in the film without the presence of Sam Spade.] The half-smile of recognition on Archer's face as he approaches the camera [and an unknown person] quickly turns to a look of disbelieving horror as an unseen assailant [suspect Thursby never appears in the film] pulls a gun and shoots him dead at close range. Miles is blown backwards through a fence barrier and he tumbles down a steep hill. The camera cuts to an indoor shot, a close-up of a telephone ringing urgently. An alarm clock shows 2:05 am in the background, blowing curtains flutter. A hand gropes for the receiver, and a grunting, sleepy voice responds off-camera to the call. Spade is informed of his partner's death [from Police Sergeant Tom Polhaus, we learn later] at the corner of Bush and Stockton.

After receiving the news, Spade seems unaffected and unmoved. With an impassive face, he phones his secretary to notify Iva, Miles' wife: Now Effie. It's me...Now listen, Precious. Miles has been shot...Yeah, dead. Now don't get excited...Now, you'll have to break the news to Iva. I'd fry for it...And keep her away from me...That's a good girl...Now get right over there...You're an angel. Bye. After a dissolve, Spade arrives in a taxi at the street corner of the film-noirish murder scene - a deserted blind alley, one lone street lamp, dark shadows against a brick wall (displaying a dilapidated poster for Swing Your Lady (1938) - a comedy starring Humphrey Bogart), and a broken fence. There, a cool-headed Spade talks with plainclothes Police Sergeant Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond), who shows him the location of Miles' body sprawled near some rocks and the murder weapon.

They rehearse the crime - the evidence reveals that Archer was caught off guard - he was shot at close range with one bullet, and his overcoat ("the blast burnt his coat") was buttoned with his gun unfired and tucked away on his hip. Someone he trusted must have fired the shot. Polhaus asks Sam if Miles was working, but Sam refuses to tell the police much about their case - and is in too much of a hurry to view his dead partner's body closeup. Private detective Spade only reveals that Miles was tailing a guy named Thursby to find out where he lived. "Don't crowd me, Tom," Spade demands, revealing that they are long-time adversaries and acquaintances as cop and detective. Knowing that Spade was having an affair with his partner's wife, Polhaus suspects a crime of passion although it is not mentioned. The police sergeant comments on Miles' demise - providing his only epitaph: Polhaus: It's tough, him getting it like that, ain't it? Miles had his faults just like any of the rest of us, but I guess he must have had some good points too, huh? Sam: (dispassionately and detachedly) I guess so.

Spade telephones Miss Wonderly's hotel, but finds that she has checked out without leaving any forwarding address. He returns to his dingy apartment, where he sleeps in the living room. He is visited in the dark, early morning by Polhaus and his superior, Lieutenant Dundy (Barton McLane). Surrounded by the two cops, he is grilled and forced to repeat that Miles was tailing Thursby for an unnamed client. The cops, especially the Lieutenant, act suspicious for a number of reasons: he refuses to identify his client or provide details about the case he didn't go to Miles' house to break the news to his wife Iva as he said he did (he gave the job instead to Effie, his efficient assistant) he has no witnesses to support his whereabouts for the last hour And then they divulge the reason for their visit - Floyd Thursby was murdered in front of his hotel only a half hour after Sam left the Archer murder scene.

When Dundy points at Spade and implicates him in the murder, Spade bursts back: "KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF ME." But then Spade cleverly eases off and rationalizes: Sorry I got up on my hind legs, boys, but you fellas tryin' to rope me made me nervous. Miles gettin' bumped off upset me, and then you birds crackin' foxy, but it's all right now, now that I know what it's all about. Thursby was shot four times in the back with a .44 or .45 from across the street, with no witnesses. [By the end of the film, it is revealed that a gunsel named Wilmer killed Thursby.] Spade proclaims his innocence: "I've never seen Thursby dead or alive." But Dundy, a tough uncompromising cop, suspects that Sam is now involved in two murders - he possibly killed Thursby to avenge his partner Archer's death: Well, you know me, Spade. If you did it, or if you didn't, you'll get a square deal from me and most of the breaks.

Don't know as I blame you much - a man that kills your partner, but that won't stop me from nailing ya. "Fair enough," Spade replies. They share a drink, toasted by Spade: "Success to crime!" The morning headlines of the San Francisco Post-Dispatch broadcast the news: Thursby, Archer Murders Linked! - Private Detective Was Shadowing Thursby Miles Archer, private detective of the firm of Spade and Archer, murdered last night, had been shadowing the mystery man, Floyd Thursby, who shortly afterwards met the same violent fate outside the Hotel Florence. That same morning, a grieving, black-clothed Iva (Gladys George), Archer's widow, is waiting for Spade in his office the day after the murders - Effie had unsuccessfully tried to keep her away. After closing the door to his PRIVATE office, the two embrace passionately - they have been having an affair for quite a while, but Spade has obviously lost interest. Through her tears, a half-hoping Iva asks Spade if he killed Miles so that they could marry: Iva: Sam, did you kill him? Spade: Who put that bright idea in your head?

Iva: Well, I thought you said if it wasn't for Miles, you'd --- Be kind to me, Sam! Spade: (He smiles broadly, laughs, and claps his hands.) (mockingly) You killed my husband, Sam. Be kind to me. He hurriedly comforts her and brushes her off - not wanting anything more to do with her. He dismisses her out the door and gives her a half-hearted promise to see her later. [Despite their obvious past, he is now sickened by the widowed woman (dressed to resemble the black, lead falcon revealed at the end). His newfound curiosity for the elusive Brigid O'Shaughnessy replaces his desire for Iva - a woman now uninteresting because of Archer's murder.] Effie enters his one-person office, and in a comfortable pose, sits up on his desk to light his cigarette.

He asks for her opinion about his guilt: "Who do you think I shot?" She avoids his question with another query: "Are you going to marry Iva?" When Effie hypothesizes that Iva killed Miles, Spade calls Effie "an angel, a nice, rattle-brained little angel...You're a detective, darling, but she didn't kill him." Their conversation turns to her concern about the many risky predicaments he often finds himself enmeshed in - but he evades her devoted worry: Do the police really think you shot this 'what's-his-name'? Do they? Look at me, Sam. You worry me. You always think you know what you're doing but you're too slick for your own good. While they talk, Spade receives a call from 'Miss Wonderly.' She has left the St. Mark Hotel and is now at the Coronet Apartments (#1001) on California Avenue, under the name of Miss Leblanc. As he burns the phone message in his hands (Effie wrote down the details of the call as he dictated them), Sam asks Effie to have Miles' desk moved out of the office and Miles' name removed from the office door.

At the Coronet when he sees his client again, she is wearing a striped robe (in her room heavily striped by venetian blind shadows). She confesses immediately: "That story I told you yesterday was just a story." Spade has already assumed as much, knowing that the deceptive schemer was lying from the start about both her story and her real name: We, we didn't exactly believe your story, Miss, uh...What is your name, Wonderly or Leblanc?...We didn't exactly believe your story, Miss O'Shaughnessy; we believed your two hundred dollars...I mean, you paid us more than if you'd been telling us the truth, and enough more to make it all right. Spade reassures her that he doesn't even consider her indirectly at fault for Miles' death, since she did warn them about how dangerous Thursby was. When she expresses regret at the murder, Spade doesn't want to hear it: "Stop it. He knew what he was doing. Those are the chances we take." The detective explains how the remorseless widow will benefit from his life insurance policy: With ten thousand in insurance, no children, and a wife that didn't like him.

Spade tells her he hasn't told the police about her identity - he has been stalling until now, but he must know the real truth about her and Thursby. Still remaining obscure and vague, Brigid - with a trembling, helpless voice - entreats him to protect her with his "courage and strength." Manipulative, slippery and full of cunning, Brigid pleads for help from an admiring Spade: Do they have to know about me, I mean - can't you shield me so that I won't have to answer their questions...I can't tell you now. I will later when I can. You've got to trust me, Mr. Spade. Oh, I'm so alone and afraid. I've got nobody to help me if you won't help me. Be generous, Mr. Spade. You're brave. You're strong. You can spare me some of that courage and strength surely. Help me, Mr. Spade. I need help so badly. I've no right to ask you, I know I haven't, but I do ask you. Help me.

He compliments her convincing sincerity act - knowing that he can't trust her or believe her: You won't need much of anybody's help. You're good. It's chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like 'Be generous, Mr. Spade.' She admits she was putting it on too thick, but he is obviously attracted and allured to her anyway: Brigid: I deserve that. But the lie was in the way I said it. Not at all in what I said. It's my own fault if you can't believe me now. Spade: (smiling and grinning) Now you are dangerous. Fearful and in trouble, Miss O'Shaughnessy explains the story of her association with Thursby, whom she met in the Orient: "He first came to the Orient as bodyguard to a gambler who had to leave the States. The gambler had since disappeared and Floyd knew about the disappearance." She had hired the treacherous man to protect her ("only that sort could have helped me"), but he presumably betrayed her.

Thursby came to San Francisco from Hong Kong a week earlier and probably killed Archer - Thursby was always "heavily armed" and carried an extra revolver in his overcoat pocket. She feels threatened by the circumstances: Spade: How bad a spot are you actually in? Brigid: As bad as could be. Spade: Physical danger? Famous fictional private investigators Famous fictional private investigators Famous fictional private investigators Jake ‘J.J’ Gittes Played by Jack Nicholson in the film Chinatown, Jake ‘J.J’ Gittes is a fictional Irish-American private eye in the film-noir movies Chinatown and The Two Jakes. Gittes is played in both films by Jack Nicholson. He lives in Los Angeles from where he runs his Private Detective business with the aid of his two assistants Larry and Duffy; famed for his unorthodox method, he’s known as a man to turn to if you want to get something done. However, despite his nasty reputation, he has strong morals: he will never betray a friend or extort a confidante and he just can’t help but come to the aid of a damsel in distress.

Most of his cases revolve around marriage disputes, implied infidelities in which it’s up to him to prove or disprove the accused’s guilt, but for him these always seem to lead into murkier water – from the land rustling and water stealing conspiracy of Chinatown to the murder of a wealthy realtor linked to an orange grove connected to his past in The Two Jakes. Jim Rockford Jim Rockford is a fictional character on the television series The Rockford Files. The character is different from the average fictional P.I. in many ways. Instead of being an ex-cop, he is a former convict, albeit one who was falsely imprisoned. Instead of being a loner, he has a close relationship with his father, “Rocky”, and has a large group of friends. He enjoys fishing and would rather spend time doing that than working. He often describes himself as “chicken” though often his actions speak otherwise. He lives in a small trailer on the beach. The detective story writer Stuart Kaminsky has written two books with Jim Rockford as the main character, entitled “The Green Bottle” and “The Devil on My Doorstep”. The show is famous for its opening segment featuring the answering machine of James Garner’s character.

The title scene began with this line: “This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you.” Throughout the series, fictional characters from the show would call Jim and leave comical messages on his machine. Some of the messages are also published in the book: “This is Jim Rockford…”. Jim Rockford was referenced in ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, under the question “Which of these television detective characters is an ex-convict?” Magnum, P.I. Magnum, P.I. was an American television show that followed the adventures of Thomas Magnum (played by Tom Selleck), a private investigator living in Hawaii. The show aired eight seasons on the CBS network from 1980 to 1988. Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is a former U.S.

Navy SEAL and Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) officer, who was awarded the Navy Cross and strongly prefers being called “private investigator” over “private eye” or “private detective.” He lives in the guest house of a posh beachfront estate (“Robin’s Nest”) on the island of Oahu, at the invitation of its owner, celebrity author of lurid novels Robin Masters (whose face is never actually seen), in exchange for his expertise in quality control of the estate’s security. Magnum is a graduate of the Naval Academy, where he played quarterback, and left the Navy in disillusionment after approximately ten years service. Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe is a fictional private eye created by Raymond Chandler in a series of detective novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. Marlowe appeared in none of Chandler’s early short stories, though many of his early stories were republished years later with the names of the protagonists changed to Philip Marlowe; this change was presumably made with the approval of Chandler.

Philip Marlowe’s character is foremost within the genre of hardboiled crime fiction that originated in the 1920s, most notably in Black Mask magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett’s The Continental Op and Sam Spade first appeared. The private eye is a pessimistic and cynical observer of a corrupt society, yet the enduring appeal of Marlowe and other hardboiled detectives lies in their tarnished idealism. Underneath the wisecracking, hard drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly contemplative and philosophical. He enjoys chess and poetry. While he is not afraid to risk physical harm, he does not dish out violence merely to settle scores. Morally upright, he is not bamboozled by the genre’s usual femme fatales, like Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep. As Chandler wrote about his detective ideal in general, “I think he might seduce a duchess, and I am quite sure he would not spoil a virgin.” Sam Spade Sam Spade is a hardboiled private detective and the leading character in Dashiell Hammett’s novel The Maltese Falcon (1930) first published as a serial in the pulp magazine Black Mask.

Sam Spade also appears in three short stories by Hammett. Sam Spade is most closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played the character in the most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon. This was the third and most well known movie version of the book, made in 1941 and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. Spade was played by Ricardo Cortez in the 1931 version. In the 1936 film Satan Met a Lady, which was based on The Maltese Falcon, Warren William played the central character Ted Shane. Despite a number of perceived flaws and misteps – Bogart failed to dye his hair to the characteristic blonde called for by the novel, was considered to be too small and dark for the role, with the wrong facial structure, and was even slighted for not being enough of a lecher – he turned out not only to have succeeded, but in fact to have created the archetypal private detective, one which has influenced “film noir” characters ever since. George Segal played Sam Spade, Jr., son of the original, in the 1974 spoof The Black Bird.

The character was also parodied as Sam Diamond, played by Peter Falk, in the 1976 comedy Murder By Death. In the radio productions, Sam Spade was played by Edward G. Robinson in a 1943 Lux Radio Theatre production, and by Bogart himself in a 1946 Academy Award Theatre production, both on CBS. A 1946–1951 radio show called the Adventures of Sam Spade (on ABC, CBS, and NBC), starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne), and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character. Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who made his first published appearance in 1887. He was devised by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases. He is perhaps the most famous fictional detective, and indeed one of the best known and universally recognizable literary characters. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short-stories featuring his creation. Almost all were narrated by Holmes’ friend and biographer, Dr. John H.

Watson, with the exception of two narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person. The stories first appeared in magazine serialization, notably in The Strand, over a period of forty years. This was a common form of publication at the time: Charles Dickens’ works were issued in a similar fashion. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914. They are read as much for their characterization and the stylized late-Victorian world in which they take place as for the mysteries themselves. More actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes than any other character, and by 1964, according to a report in The Times, the worldwide sales of the stories were running second only to The Bible. Simon Templar Simon Templar is a fictional character in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris entitled The Saint published between 1928 and 1963, after which other authors collaborated on the books. New books featuring the character were written into the 1990s. Templar is known as The Saint because of his initials (ST), and also because of his heroic exploits, despite his nefarious reputation.

He sometimes uses the nom de guerre Sebastian Tombs and also calls himself by sundry other names, all with the initials S.T., such as Sullivan Titwillow and Sugarman Treacle – the Saint has a boyish sense of humor. He frequently leaves a “calling card” at the scenes of his “crimes,” consisting of a stick drawing of a man with a halo, which is the logo of both the book series and the later 1960s TV series. The books often allude to the possibility that Templar started his career as a criminal and suggest that he had somewhere developed the skills of a burglar. It is clear from the texts, however, that at the time of the books, all of his income derives from the pockets of the “ungodly” (as he terms those who live by a less moral code than his own.) There are several references to a “ten percent collection fee” as he extracts large sums of money from his victims, the remainder being returned to its owners or given away. His targets include corrupt politicians, warmongers, and indeed all the nastier forms of low life.

“He claims he’s a Robin Hood,” bleats one of his victims, “but to me he’s just a robbing hood.” Inspector Jacques Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (later chief inspector) is a bumbling fictional French detective who was a character in Blake Edwards’s Pink Panther series. In most of the films, he was played by Peter Sellers, with one film in which he was played by Alan Arkin and one in which he was played by an uncredited Roger Moore. In the most recent Pink Panther film, he was played by Steve Martin. He is also the inspiration of the main character in a series of animated shorts inspired by the titles of the feature films. Though the character in the animated The Inspector was never given a name, he is clearly based on Clouseau. Another cartoon obviously some what inspired by Clouseau is Inspector Gadget, whose makers were almost sued over the similarities between the characters. In many countries, such as Greece, this character’s name has become synonymous with policemen who keep making ludicrous assumptions and are utterly unable to crack even the easiest case.

Contact Us The Maltese Falcon - Hollywood's Golden Age The Maltese Falcon(1941) Bogart, Lorre, Astor and Greenstreet 'The Maltese Falcon' is a classic adventure detective movie made in 1941, written and directed by John Huston, and based on the 1929 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade, Mary Astor as his beautiful client, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. 'The Maltese Falcon' was made on a low budget, even by 1941 standards, of $300,000, and was originally released as a B picture by Warner Brothers. The public response to the movie was so positive that it was quickly re-assessed to an A status. It was a resounding success both critically and financially, and its reputation has continued to grow ever since.

It was nominated for three Academy Awards: for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Director, John Huston.) It was further honored in 1989 when it was selected by the Library of Congress, for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In the American film Institute's 2007 list of top 100 Movies it is ranked at number 31. The movie is considered to be one of the first of film noir genre movies which became so popular during the next two decades. It certainly has many of the noir properties: it is influenced by hard boiled crime fiction, it has a troubled hero in a city setting, with the action taking place almost entirely in anonymous and claustrophobic hotel rooms and offices frequently photographed at night, murky symbolic shadows - which are withheld until the elevator door casts jail-bar shapes across the face of the duplicitous heroine at the end, and a general sense of doom and cynicism. Search Amazon for 'The Maltese Falcon' Plot Humphrey Bogart, plays cool private eye Sam Spade who lives by his own moral code.

He is out to bring in the murderer of his partner and thwart a group of treacherous adventurers who have become so caught up in the search for the fabulous jeweled bird of the title that they make the fatal mistake of assuming everyone is as corrupt and greedy as they are. Huston's clever and complex script drives the film forward well, and the mystery of the falcon and the murderer is resolved by Spade in a highly entertaining manner, with plenty of plot twists and turns along the way. Production The movie was based on the Dashiell Hammett's novel 'The Maltese Falcon', originally serialized in the crime magazine "Black Mask" beginning with the September 1929 issue. Hammett apparently drew on his years as a Pinkerton detective to create his characters. The novel had been filmed twice before, firstly in 1931 under its own title starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels, and then as 'Satan Met a Lady' in 1935 with Warren William as the Spade character and a young Bette Davis.

Director John Huston who, remarkably, wrote the screenplay, as well as making his directorial debut, remained faithful to the original Hammett novel, particularly the dialogue which is quite superb. Whereas other great Hollywood directors pursue their own visions, Huston was at his best when making faithful adaptations of minor classic novels. Having served an apprenticeship as a writer, he selected the book from Warner Brothers' catalogue of properties and was so confident in the strength of his material that his script consists essentially of a transcription of Hammett's dialogue although removing any references to sex that the censors might find unacceptable. For instance, the homosexuality of Joel Cairo is shown quite clearly in the novel but is only hinted at in the movie. Huston was fortunate enough to be able to obtain a letter-perfect cast down to the smallest bit parts. Warner Brothers had originally wanted the popular George Raft for the Spade role but he turned it down, refusing to do a remake. Huston's first choice was Bogart, who had become a dependable leading man in films such as 'They Drive by Night' in 1940 and 'High Sierra' in early 1941.

The studio wanted Geraldine Fitzgerald for the role of Brigid but she passed to do a play, leaving the way clear for Huston and Bogart to choose Mary Astor. Huston carefully tailored the screenplay shot by shot, and did his own detailed sketches for every scene, in the same way exactly as Hitchcock made his movies. Huston also, unusually, shot most of the scenes sequentially. He gave the actors free rein to work out their scenes themselves, following his carefully detailed script. It was a happy film to make, with the cast, crew and director often socialising together after filming. Huston's careful planning paid off - the film kept to schedule and never went over budget. Behind the camera Huston used the experienced cinematographer, Arthur Edeson and the lighting, framing and composition of some scenes are ground-breaking. Many scenes are shot over Bogart's shoulder so that the audience sees what Sam Spade sees. The film's tense atmosphere is heightened by low camera angles and clever use of ceilings to suggest confinement. Close ups and shadows are used to emphasize the dark personalities of most of the characters.

When Wilmer wakes up, we see Gutman, Cairo, Spade and Brigid looking at him from Wilmer's viewpoint and we know what they, and Wilmer, are thinking without a word being said. Main Cast The casting could hardly be bettered. All the performers are consummate character actors giving great performances with subtle nuances. Best Supporting Actor ... Sydney Greenstreet Best Writing, Screenplay ... John Huston Summary 'The Maltese Falcon' still stands up as a movie classic for its brilliant script, masterly direction and some outstanding individual performances. With a fine combination of cast, characters, story, and atmosphere, the movie is one of the most entertaining films of its kind, enjoyable even after numerous viewings. It climaxes not only with the punchline that the falcon that everyone has been scheming and killing to possess is actually a fraud, but also the classic moment as the detective admits that he loves the murderess but is still going to let her get hauled off to jail. Absolutely riveting cinema. The Maltese Falcon Plot ------------- Plot by IMDB ------------- EnglishSam Spade is a partner in a private-eye firm who finds himself hounded by police when his partner is killed whilst tailing a man.

The girl who asked him to follow the man turns out not to be who she says she is, and is really involved in something to do with the 'Maltese Falcon', a gold-encrusted life-sized statue of a falcon, the only one of its kind. Summary written by Graeme Roy {gsr@cbmamiga.demon.co.uk} In 1539, the Knight Templars of Malta, paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels-----but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day--- Summary written by Chris Schairer While Sam Spade is investigating the murder of his partner, he finds himself surrounded by a host of strange characters all after one thing - a statue of a falcon reputed to contain priceless jewels. Warning - avoid the Ted Turner colorized version of this movie. Summary written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com} ------------- Plot by DVD Empire ------------- A gallery of high-living lowflies will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon.

Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) wants to find out why - and who;ll take the fall. This third screen version of Dashiell Hammett's novel is a film of firsts: John Huston's directorial debut, rotund Sydney Greenstreet's screen debut, film history's first film noir and Bogart's break through role after years as a Warner contract player.An all-star cast (including Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Pete Lorre and Elisha Cook Jr.) join Bogart in this crisply written sizzler that placed in the top quarter of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American Films list. Many say it's the best detective drama ever. Each time you see it, you'll find it hard to disagree. ------------- Plot by AMG ------------- After two previous film versions of Dashiell Hammett's detective classic The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. finally got it right in 1941--or, rather, John Huston, a long-established screenwriter making his directorial debut, got it right, simply by adhering as closely as possible to the original.

Taking over from a recalcitrant George Raft, Humphrey Bogart achieved true stardom as Sam Spade, a hard-boiled San Francisco private eye who can be as unscrupulous as the next guy but also adheres to his own personal code of honor. Into the offices of the Spade & Archer detective agency sweeps a Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), who offers a large retainer to Sam and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) if they'll protect her from someone named Floyd Thursby. The detectives believe neither Miss Wonderly nor her story, but they believe her money. Since Archer saw her first, he takes the case -- and later that evening he is shot to death, as is the mysterious Thursby. Miss Wonderly's real name turns out to be Brigid O'Shaughnessey, and, as the story continues, Sam is also introduced to the effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the fat, erudite Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut).

It turns out that Brigid, Cairo and Gutman are all international scoundrels, all involved in the search for a foot-high, jewel-encrusted statuette in the shape of a falcon. Though both Cairo and Gutman offer Spade small fortunes to find the "black bird," they are obviously willing to commit mayhem and murder towards that goal: Gutman, for example, drugs Spade and allows his "gunsel" Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.) to kick and beat the unconscious detective. This classic film noir detective yarn gets better with each viewing, which is more than can be said for the first two Maltese Falcons and the ill-advised 1975 "sequel" The Black Bird. Actors Walter Huston ..... Capt. Jacobi (uncredited) Hank Mann ..... Reporter (uncredited) Emory Parnell ..... Ship's mate (uncredited) Reviews ------------- Review by AMG ------------- Adapting Dashiell Hammett's novel -- and staying as close to the original story as the Production Code allowed -- first-time director John Huston turned The Maltese Falcon into a movie often considered the first film noir.

In his star-making performance as Sam Spade, Humphrey Bogart embodied the coolly ruthless private eye who recognizes the dark side of humanity, in all its greedy perversity, and who feels its temptations, especially when they are embodied by a woman. While Huston's mostly straightforward visual approach renders The Maltese Falcon an instance of early noir more in its hardboiled attitude than in the chiaroscuro style common to other films noirs, the collection of venal characters, colorfully played by Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Elisha Cook, Jr.; Mary Astor's femme fatale; and Bogart's morally relativistic Spade pointed the way to the mid-1940s flowering of noir in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944), Otto Preminger's Laura (1944), and Howard Hawks's The Big Sleep (1946). A critical as well as popular success, The Maltese Falcon was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, establishing Huston as a formidable dual talent and Bogart as the archetypal detective antihero.

------------- Review by Amazon ------------- Still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence.

This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trend-setting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute Product Description Sam Spade is caught in a frantic search for the jeweled falcon of Malta and his partner's killer. His pursuit leads him to a group of desperate individuals who also want the bird. Awards (1941) Academy - Best Picture (nom) ..... (1941) Academy - Best Screenplay (nom) ..... John Huston (1941) Academy - Best Supporting Actor (nom) ..... Sydney Greenstreet (1941) National Board of Review - Best Acting (win) ..... Humphrey Bogart (1941) National Board of Review - Best Acting (win) ..... Mary Astor (1988) Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry (win) .....

(1998) American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies (win) ..... Features

Question: What is the name of the private investigator, played by Humphrey Bogart, in the 1941 film ‘The Maltese Falcon’?
Answer: Sam Spade